Politics

Opinion: Experts once thought highly of Biden's presidency. Here's how his legacy is likely to change

Published

1 year ago

January 19, 2025

Opinion: Experts once thought highly of Biden's presidency. Here's how his legacy is likely to change

Our survey of presidential experts a year ago drew attention for ranking Joe Biden 14th among the presidents, ahead of such consequential chief executives as Woodrow Wilson and Ronald Reagan. At the time, many expressed surprise, if not skepticism, that the third edition of our Presidential Greatness Project had put Biden in the top third of the nation’s presidents.

True, President Biden helped lead the nation out of the COVID-19 pandemic while presiding over a series of legislative achievements, and many gave him credit for restoring important norms to the Oval Office after the tumultuous term of Donald Trump, whom the experts ranked last. But the story was unfinished, and the verdict was preliminary.

In the months following the release of our survey, voters and experts alike learned much more about Biden’s decline with age, laid bare especially by his disastrous debate performance against Trump in June. Weeks later, Biden dropped out of the race, handing the reins to Vice President Kamala Harris, who would go on to be decisively defeated by Trump.

Even as Biden’s administration shifted its focus to his legacy in the months since he dropped out of the race, his presidency grew more fraught. Evidence of his diminished capacity accumulated; he pardoned his son Hunter, undermining his claims to restoring upright adherence to the rule of law; and Trump and his fellow Republicans prepared to return to power and reverse much of what Biden accomplished.

Presidential legacies are a quintessentially American phenomenon; it seems that from the moment a president steps off the inaugural dais, chatter about their prospective legacy and the impact of this event or that decision begins. Those legacies remain contested well after they leave office, sometimes for many decades: Consider the continuing reassessment of presidents such as Wilson, Andrew Jackson and Ulysses S. Grant, all of whom have been out of office for well over a century.

Presidents themselves are quite aware of this. Barack Obama once observed that he and his presidential predecessors were all part of America’s long-running story and that each president just tries to get their particular paragraph right. Of course, presidents don’t write their paragraphs alone. Journalists, historians and the allies and enemies of individual presidents play significant roles in the way each is remembered and regarded.

Advocates of a particular president often point to the substantive accomplishments of an administration as evidence of a great legacy. Biden’s defenders, for example, argue that the American Rescue Plan, the infrastructure bill and the Inflation Reduction Act make him a momentous president, at least in the domestic sphere. But for each of those successes, there are blemishes such as Biden’s botched withdrawal from Afghanistan, his struggle with inflation and the chaotic situation at the southern border.

The reality is that while most modern presidents can lay claim to significant policy successes, most of those initiatives don’t end up being the most significant parts of history’s narrative about them. Legacies are just as much about the presidents’ political performance, their relationship with the American people, the success of their parties and the historical memory of what it was like during their time in office — the presidential vibes, as our students might say.

When we reflect on the ways presidents are remembered, more often than not their greatest policy achievements aren’t at the forefront. Gerald Ford is best remembered not for his administration’s fight against inflation or for signing campaign finance reforms but for pardoning his predecessor, Richard Nixon. Jimmy Carter’s presidency is more often defined by his malaise speech than by the 13 days he spent at Camp David negotiating a durable peace between Israel and Egypt.

Looking at Biden’s more recent predecessors is revealing. Bill Clinton’s paragraph is largely about the deepening of partisan polarization and his impeachment, while George W. Bush’s, bookended by the Florida recount and Hurricane Katrina, centers on the post-9/11 wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Barack Obama’s paragraph is so far focused on his historic place as the first African American president and his successful push for the Affordable Care Act, along with the rise of the tea party and further polarization. Trump’s first term was marked by the COVID-19 pandemic, two impeachments and the Jan. 6 insurrection, but now that he will become the first president since Grover Cleveland to serve nonconsecutive terms, his paragraph is only half-written.

As we contemplate Biden’s legacy, it is more likely that his ranking in our most recent survey will be his high-water mark. Future assessments will have to incorporate new information not only about his deterioration but also the extent to which he and his staff kept it hidden, the administration’s ineffectual handling of the war in Gaza, the president’s low standing with the American people at the conclusion of his term and the precarious situation in which he leaves his party.

A year ago, Biden still seemed to have a chance of reelection and was credibly playing the role of defender of American democracy. Now we know that more of his paragraph will deal with the difference between what he promised — to restore a measure of normalcy after Trump and serve as a bridge to a new generation of leadership — and what he delivered: the second Trump administration.

Brandon Rottinghaus is a professor of political science at the University of Houston. Justin Vaughn is an associate professor of political science at Coastal Carolina University.

Politics

Senate rejects war powers measure to withdraw forces from Iran

Published

29 minutes ago

March 4, 2026

Press Room

Senate rejects war powers measure to withdraw forces from Iran

WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans blocked a war powers resolution Wednesday designed to withdraw U.S. forces from hostilities in Iran, as the Trump administration accelerates its military campaign in a conflict that has killed hundreds, including at least six American service members.

The motion failed in a vote of 47-53.

In addition to pulling out military resources from the Middle East, the measure — introduced by Sens. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and Tim Kaine (D-Va.) — would have required Congress’ explicit approval before future engagement with Iran, a power granted to the legislative branch in the Constitution.

The House, where Republicans also hold an advantage, is scheduled to weigh in on a similar measure Thursday. Even if both Democratic-led measures were to succeed, President Trump was widely expected to veto the legislation.

“We are doing very well on the war front, to put it mildly,” President Trump said at a White House event on Wednesday afternoon. The president, who has come under scrutiny for offering shifting explanations on the war’s endgame, said that if he was asked to scale the American military operation from one to 10, he would rate it a 15.

Democrats dispute that Trump possesses the authority to wage the ongoing operation in Iran without explicit congressional approval.

Acknowledging the measure was unlikely to succeed, they framed the vote as a strategy to force lawmakers to put their support for or opposition to the war on record.

“Today every senator — every single one — will pick a side,” Schumer said. “Do you stand with the American people who are exhausted with forever wars in the Middle East, or stand with Donald Trump and Pete Hegseth as they bumble us headfirst into another war?”

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) and most of his Republican colleagues have maintained that the president carried out a “pre-emptive” and “defensive” strike in Iran, giving him full authority to continue unilateral military operations.

Republicans saw the vote as the “last roadblock” stopping Trump from carrying out his mission against the Islamic Republic.

“I think the president has the authority that he needs to conduct the activities and operations that are currently underway there. There are a lot of controversy and questions around the war powers act, but I think the president is acting in the best interest of the nation and our national security interests,” Thune said at a news conference.

Senators largely held to party loyalties, with the exception of Kentucky Republican Rand Paul, who broke ranks to support the measure, and Pennsylvania Democrat John Fetterman, who opposed it.

The vote comes as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Wednesday that the war against Iran is “accelerating,” with American and Israeli forces expanding air operations into Iranian territory. He pointed to evidence released by U.S. Central Command of a submarine strike on an Iranian warship, and also lauded other strikes throughout the region as civilian casualties in Iran surpassed 1,000 on the fourth day of the conflict, according to rights groups.

“We’re going to continue to do well,” Trump said Wednesday. “We have the greatest military in the world by far and that was a tremendous threat to us for many years. Forty-seven years they’ve been killing our people and killing people all over the world, and we have great support.”

Republicans blocked a similar war powers vote in January after the president ordered U.S. special forces to capture and extradite Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in Caracas on drug trafficking charges.

GOP leaders argued that the outcome of that mission equated to a quick success in the Middle East, despite an uncertain timeline from the Department of Defense.

In the House, lawmakers will vote on a separate war powers effort Thursday. That bill is led by Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), the two lawmakers who authored the Epstein Files Transparency Act.

“Instead of sending billions overseas, we need to invest in jobs, healthcare, and education here,” Khanna said on X.

In addition to that proposal, moderate Democrats in the House have introduced a separate resolution that would give the administration a 30-day window to justify continued hostilities in the Middle East before requiring a formal declaration of war or authorization from Congress.

Politics

Video: U.S. ‘Accelerating’ Military Assault in Iran, Hegseth Says

Published

11 hours ago

March 4, 2026

Press Room

Video: U.S. ‘Accelerating’ Military Assault in Iran, Hegseth Says

new video loaded: U.S. ‘Accelerating’ Military Assault in Iran, Hegseth Says

On the fifth day of the war in Iran, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said that the U.S. military operation was intensifying and that more warplanes were arriving in the region.

By Christina Kelso

March 4, 2026

Politics

US submarine sinks Iranian warship by torpedo in a first since World War II

Published

12 hours ago

March 4, 2026

Press Room

US submarine sinks Iranian warship by torpedo in a first since World War II

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A U.S. submarine sank a prized Iranian warship by torpedo, the first such sinking of an enemy ship since World War II, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said Wednesday morning.

Hegseth joined Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine at the Pentagon to provide an update to reporters on “Operation Epic Fury” in Iran.

“An American submarine sunk an Iranian warship that thought it was safe in international waters,” Hegseth said. “Instead, it was sunk by a torpedo. Quiet death. The first sinking of an enemy ship by a torpedo since World War Two. Like in that war, back when we were still the War Department. We are fighting to win.”

Caine said that an Iranian vessel was “effectively neutralized” in a Navy “fast attack” using a single Mark 48 torpedo. He added that the U.S. Navy achieved “immediate effect, sending the warship to the bottom of the sea.”

WATCH HEGSETH’S ANNOUNCEMENT:

Hegseth said that the U.S. Navy sank the Iranian warship, the Soleimani. The flagship was named for Qasem Soleimani, an Iranian military officer who served in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps who the U.S. killed in a January 2020 drone strike during President Donald Trump’s first term.

“The Iranian Navy rests at the bottom of the Persian Gulf. Combat ineffective, decimated, destroyed, defeated. Pick your adjective,” Hegseth said. “In fact, last night we sunk their prize ship, the Soleimani. Looks like POTUS got him twice. Their navy, not a factor. Pick your adjective. It is no more.”

This map shows U.S. and Israeli strikes against Iranian naval forces as of March 1. (Fox News)

Hegseth also told reporters at the briefing that the U.S. and Israel will soon achieve “complete control” over Iranian airspace after Iran’s missile capabilities were drastically diminished in the four days of fighting.

US ‘WINNING DECISIVELY’ AGAINST IRAN, WILL ACHIEVE ‘COMPLETE CONTROL’ OF AIRSPACE WITHIN DAYS, HEGSETH SAYS

“More bombers and more fighters are arriving just today and now, with complete control of the skies, we will be using 500 pound, one thousand pound and 2,000 pound laser-guided precision gravity bombs, of which we have a nearly unlimited stockpile,” he said.

The war has killed more than 1,000 people in Iran and dozens in Lebanon, while U.S. officials said six American troops were killed in a fatal drone strike in Kuwait.

Thousands of travelers have been left stranded across the Middle East.

This map shows security and travel updates for Americans regarding countries in the Middle East region. (Fox News)

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Caine told reporters that the U.S. military is helping thousands of Americans stranded in the Middle East after the U.S. State Department urged citizens to leave more than a dozen countries.

Fox News Digital’s Ashley Carnahan contributed to this report.